The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 7: Alcoholic Beverages, Cannabis, and Tobacco

Chapter 035: Medical Cannabis Registry

• § 951. Definitions

  As used in this chapter:

  (1) “Board” means the Cannabis Control Board.

  (2) “Cannabis” has the same meaning as provided in section 831 of this title.

  (3) “Cannabis product” has the same meaning as provided in section 831 of this title.

  (4) “Dispensary” means a business organization licensed pursuant to chapter 37 of this title or 18 V.S.A. chapter 86.

  (5)(A) “Health care professional” means an individual licensed to practice medicine under 26 V.S.A. chapter 23 or 33, an individual licensed as a naturopathic physician under 26 V.S.A. chapter 81, an individual certified as a physician assistant under 26 V.S.A. chapter 31, or an individual licensed as an advanced practice registered nurse under 26 V.S.A. chapter 28.

  (B) This definition includes individuals who are professionally licensed under substantially equivalent provisions in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, or New York.

  (6) “Immature cannabis plant” means a female cannabis plant that has not flowered and that does not have buds that may be observed by visual examination.

  (7) “Mature cannabis plant” means a female cannabis plant that has flowered and that has buds that may be observed by visual examination.

  (8) “Qualifying medical condition” means:

  (A) cancer, multiple sclerosis, positive status for human immunodeficiency virus, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, glaucoma, Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, ulcerative colitis, or the treatment of these conditions, if the disease or the treatment results in severe, persistent, and intractable symptoms; or

  (B) a disease or medical condition or its treatment that is chronic, debilitating, and produces one or more of the following intractable symptoms: cachexia or wasting syndrome, chronic pain, severe nausea, or seizures.

  (9) “Registry” means the Vermont Medical Cannabis Registry. (Added 2019, No. 164 (Adj. Sess.), § 9, eff. March 1, 2022; amended 2023, No. 65, § 17, eff. June 14, 2023; 2023, No. 166 (Adj. Sess.), § 7, eff. June 10, 2024.)

• § 952. Registry

  (a) The Board shall establish and manage the Vermont Medical Cannabis Registry for the purpose of allowing persons with qualifying medical conditions and their caregivers to obtain privileges regarding cannabis and cannabis product possession, use, cultivation, and purchase.

  (b) A person who is a registered patient or a registered caregiver on behalf of a patient may:

  (1) Cultivate not more than six mature and 12 immature cannabis plants. Any cannabis harvested from the plants shall not count toward the two-ounce possession limit in subdivision (2) of this subsection, provided it is stored in an indoor facility on the property where the cannabis was cultivated and reasonable precautions are taken to prevent unauthorized access to the cannabis.

  (2) Possess not more than two ounces of cannabis.

  (3) Purchase cannabis and cannabis products at a licensed medical cannabis dispensary. Pursuant to chapter 37 of this title, a dispensary may offer goods and services that are not permitted at a cannabis establishment licensed pursuant to chapter 33 of this title.

  (c)(1) Individual names and identifying information about patients and caregivers on the Registry are exempt from public inspection and copying under the Public Records Act and shall be kept confidential. Notwithstanding 1 V.S.A. § 317(e), the Public Records Act exemption created in this subsection shall continue in effect and shall not be repealed through operation of 1 V.S.A. § 317(e).

  (2) In response to a person-specific or property-specific inquiry by a law enforcement officer or agency made in the course of a bona fide investigation or prosecution, the Board may verify the identities and registered property addresses of the registered patient and the patient’s registered caregiver. The law enforcement officer or agency shall keep confidential any identities and addresses received pursuant to this subdivision.

  (d) The Board shall establish an application process through rulemaking. The Board shall approve or deny the application for registration in writing within 30 days from receipt of a completed registration application.

  (e)(1) A person who is 21 years of age or older who applies to be a registered patient shall provide the Board with a Health Care Professional Verification Form as required pursuant to rules adopted by the Board.

  (2) A person who is under 21 years of age who applies to be a registered patient shall provide the Board with a Health Care Professional Verification Form from a health care professional who has a treating or consulting relationship of not less than three months’ duration with the applicant, in the course of which the health care professional has completed a full assessment of the applicant’s medical history and current medical condition, including a personal physical examination. The three-month requirement shall not apply if:

  (A) an applicant has been diagnosed with:

  (i) a terminal illness;

  (ii) cancer; or

  (iii) acquired immune deficiency syndrome;

  (B) an applicant is currently under hospice care;

  (C) an applicant had been diagnosed with a qualifying medical condition by a health care professional in another jurisdiction in which the applicant had been formerly a resident and the patient, now a resident of Vermont, has the diagnosis confirmed by a health care professional in this State or a neighboring state as permitted by subdivision 951(5)(B) of this title, and the new health care professional has completed a full assessment of the patient’s medical history and current medical condition, including a personal physical examination;

  (D) a patient who is already on the Registry changes health care professionals three months or less prior to the renewal of the patient’s registration, provided the patient’s new health care professional has completed a full assessment of the patient’s medical history and current medical condition, including a personal physical examination;

  (E) an applicant is referred by the patient’s health care professional to another health care professional who has completed advanced education and clinical training in specific qualifying medical conditions, and that health care professional conducts a full assessment of the applicant’s medical history and current medical condition, including a personal physical examination; or

  (F) an applicant’s qualifying medical condition is of recent or sudden onset. (Added 2019, No. 164 (Adj. Sess.), § 9, eff. March 1, 2022; amended 2023, No. 65, § 17, eff. June 14, 2023; 2023, No. 166 (Adj. Sess.), § 7a, eff. June 10, 2024.)

• § 953. Patients

  (a) Pursuant to rules adopted by the Board, a person may register with the Board to obtain the benefits of the Registry as provided in section 952 of this title.

  (b) An application by a person under 18 years of age shall be signed by both the applicant and the applicant’s parent or guardian. (Added 2019, No. 164 (Adj. Sess.), § 9, eff. March 1, 2022.)

• § 954. Caregivers

  (a) Pursuant to rules adopted by the Board, a person may register with the Board as a caregiver of a registered patient to obtain the benefits of the Registry as provided in section 952 of this title.

  (b) The Board shall conduct a name and date of birth Vermont criminal conviction record background check and obtain information from the Child Protection Registry maintained by the Department for Children and Families and from the Vulnerable Adult Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation Registry maintained by the Department of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living (collectively, the Registries) for any person who applies to be a caregiver.

  (c) The Board shall adopt rules that set forth standards for determining whether an applicant should be denied a caregiver card because of the applicant’s criminal history record or status on either Registry.

  (d)(1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, a caregiver may serve not more than two patients at a time, and a patient shall have only one registered caregiver at a time. A patient may serve as a caregiver for one other patient.

  (2) A patient who is under 18 years of age may have two caregivers. Additional caregivers shall be at the discretion of the Board.

  (e) Medicaid funds shall not be used to support a caregiver in the cultivation or distribution of cannabis on behalf of a patient. (Added 2019, No. 164 (Adj. Sess.), § 9, eff. March 1, 2022; amended 2023, No. 65, § 17, eff. June 14, 2023.)

• § 955. Registration; fees

  (a) A registration card shall expire three years after the date of issuance. A patient or caregiver may renew the card according to protocols adopted by the Board.

  (b) The Board shall charge and collect a $50.00 registration and renewal fee for patients and caregivers. Fees shall be deposited in the Cannabis Regulation Fund as provided in section 845 of this title. (Added 2019, No. 164 (Adj. Sess.), § 9, eff. March 1, 2022; amended 2021, No. 86 (Adj. Sess.), § 8, eff. March 25, 2022; 2023, No. 65, § 17, eff. June 14, 2023; 2023, No. 166 (Adj. Sess.), § 8, eff. June 10, 2024.)

• § 956. Rulemaking

  The Board shall adopt rules for the administration of this chapter. (Added 2019, No. 164 (Adj. Sess.), § 9, eff. June 1, 2021; amended 2023, No. 65, § 17, eff. June 14, 2023.)